In these final verses, Paul pauses to greet real people by name. It is precisely because of what they did for the gospel that Paul remembered them.
2 Timothy 4:19-22 (ESV)
19Greet Prisca and Aquila, and the household of Onesiphorus. 20Erastus remained at Corinth, and I left Trophimus, who was ill, at Miletus.
21Do your best to come before winter. Eubulus sends greetings to you, as do Pudens and Linus and Claudia and all the brothers. 22The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.
2 Timothy 4:19-22 (ESV)
1. God Remembers All Gospel Work
First, God remembers everything done for the advancement of the gospel. The people Paul greets are not just acquaintances. They are partners in the gospel. Each one made a specific contribution to the work.
Priscilla and Aquila
They opened their home to Paul at a critical moment in his ministry. They took him in, worked together with him as tent makers, and partnered with him in the work.
Acts 18:2-3; Romans 16:3-4
Onesiphorus
He refreshed Paul in prison and was not ashamed of his chains. He searched hard for Paul in Rome until he found him. A practical act of loyalty to a man suffering for the gospel.
2 Timothy 1:16-17
Erastus and Trophimus
They were actively deployed in the work. These were not spectators. They were workers. And workers are remembered.
2 Timothy 4:20
If a man can remember, what more of God?
A cup of cold water. The least imaginable act of service. And Jesus says it will not be forgotten. God keeps a record more reliable than human memory.
Matthew 10:41-42
Be Remembered for the Right Things
It is a great blessing to have your name mentioned for the right things, especially, the Gospel. Be remembered for your great works in facilitating the spread of the Gospel.
Mark 14:8-9
2. The Bible Is Not Abstract Stories
Second, the Bible is not a collection of abstract stories. Priscilla and Aquila really existed. Trophimus really fell ill at Miletus. The Bible is the record of real events among real people.
Trophimus Fell Ill at Miletus
That was a member of Paul's ministry team. Do not be deceived by those who say that a Christian cannot be sick or those who think that for every sickness, God will heal miraculously.
Implications for Life
- 1) The least you do to advance the gospel will be remembered.
- 2) Identify a true need, necessary for the advancement of the Gospel and facilitate it.
- 3) Believe the Bible.
1) Your Least Will Be Remembered
Give what you have. Open your home. Refresh a tired servant of God. Give a cup of cold water. God is watching, and He does not forget.
2) Meet Real Needs
Do not feed people's greed through manipulation, rather, identify a true need, necessary for the advancement of the Gospel and facilitate it. That is what Priscilla, Aquila, and Onesiphorus did. And that is what God remembered.
3) Believe the Bible
Its people were real. Its places were real. Its events were real. That historical reliability is the foundation of its spiritual authority.
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